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Dutch Payments Association and members respond to proposed EU Instant Payments legislation

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The European Commission (EC) has submitted proposals for legislation and regulations on Instant Payments . Among other things, these are intended to make Instant Payments suitable for convenient, widely available new payment applications at the point of sale and in e-commerce. Banks and payment institutions in all EU Member States were able to respond to the EC proposals. The Dutch Payments Association did so on behalf of its members, calling for changes that would make the proposed rules quicker and easier to implement.

Hand in suit touches luminous 24 hour icon on blue screen, symbolizing payments and services that are always available.

The Netherlands was the first country in the eurozone to introduce Instant Payments on a large scale, in 2019. Since then, Instant Payments have become the new normal in the Netherlands for individual credit transfers made through online and mobile banking. In 2023, the Netherlands remains one of the eurozone’s leaders in Instant Payments. Dutch banks and payment institutions have now processed almost 1.5 billion Instant Payments between different banks, gaining extensive knowledge and experience in developing, implementing and operating immediate interbank credit transfers.

The EC proposals include complex requirements for offering so-called Verification of Payee for Instant Payments, as a measure against errors, fraud and money laundering. In the Netherlands, this is known as the IBAN Name Check. Since 2017, most Dutch banks have offered this as standard for individual digital credit transfers, whether instant or not.

The EC proposals appear to provide unnecessary scope for payers and payees to circumvent or refuse this check, jeopardising its effectiveness. They could also create unnecessary additional barriers in e-commerce and at the point of sale. This may delay the broad rollout of Instant Payments and the development of new payment applications. Drawing on more than five years of large-scale experience with the IBAN Name Check, the Dutch Payments Association and its members have pointed out ways for the EC to make the check simple, accessible and secure, without compromising consumer privacy or the commercial interests of retail businesses.

Read the full response from the Dutch Payments Association and its members to the EC’s proposed Instant Payments legislation and regulations…

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